April 22: Minnesota State Mankato to Host 5th-12th grade Engineering Machine Design Contest and Reverse Engineering Challenge

Friday, April 22, 2022
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Myers Field House

Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato’s College of Science, Engineering and Technology is the host of the Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence’s Engineering Machine Design Championship and the Reverse Engineering Challenge for 5^th through 12^th-grade students Friday, April 22 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public and will be held on campus in Myers Field House with the championship preliminary round from 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., and the final round from 1:30–3:30 p.m. There will also be educational sessions and activity tables from 12:30–4 p.m. Parking is available in the guest parking lot.

The Engineering Machine Design Contest is an opportunity for teams of 3-12 students to design and build a complex machine using everyday objects with the guidance of a coach. The completed machines will use multiple steps to complete a simple task.

This year’s Engineering Machine Design Contest theme is “Power the World: Engineering Energy.” Thirty teams will compete in either the junior (5^th-8^th grade) or senior (9^th-12^th grade) division of the contest to become champions after advancing from one of the regional contest sites (Iowa – St. Ansgar; Minnesota – Anoka, Mankato and Winona; Wisconsin – Chippewa Falls and Milwaukee; and Virtual Open).

The Reverse Engineering Challenge is a same-day opportunity for teams of 3-5 students to explore engineering and 21^st-century skills while identifying a solution to a proposed challenge. Thirty-five teams will compete in this first-of-its-kind event. Teams participating in the Reverse Engineering Challenge will:

1. Be given a challenge scenario and a product or device.
2. Disassemble and examine in detail the product or device.
3. Identify technology from the product/device that can be used to solve the given challenge.
4. Create a proposed solution using that technology.
5. Present their solution to a panel of judges.

Through these programs, students can explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) principles while having fun in a collaborative environment.

The overall goals are to:

1. Provide a low cost or affordable option for teams to compete.
2. Inspire an interest in engineering and related career pathways.
3. Equip students with skills that will help prepare them for future careers.

Sponsors of these events are Siemens, Electrical Consultants, Inc. and Nidec/Kato Engineering.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Media interested in covering the event should contact Melissa Huppert by phone at 507-508-2987 or by email at melissa.huppert@mnsu.edu.)

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,546 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.